As Schuylkill County Commissioner George F. Halcovage Jr. prepared to testify Thursday at the first impeachment hearing for sexual misconduct, his colleagues sent a letter to state Rep. Paul Schemel, who is the head of the subcommittee in charge of the process, urging him to remove him from office.

Commissioner Gary J. Hess and Commissioners Chairman Barron L. Hetherington, along with Clerk of Courts Maria T. Casey, Controller Sharon Yackenchick, Recorder of Deeds Ann Dudish, Prothonotary Chair Bridget I. Miller, Register of Wills Theresa Santai Gaffney, and Sheriff Joseph G. Groody, and Treasurer Linda L. Yeich all signed the letter.

“We write to you today to request that the statement from the undersigned elected officials of Schuylkill County government be incorporated into the record of the Sept. 15, 2022, proceedings of the Subcommittee on Courts in relation to HR 99 of 2021. The undersigned have made significant efforts to persuade George F. Halcovage Jr. to resign as a Schuylkill County commissioner in the wake of the allegations of misconduct by four female Schuylkill County employees. Unfortunately, those efforts have fallen on deaf ears.

Schuylkill County government conducted a thorough investigation of the alleged misconduct and reached the conclusion that Mr. Halcovage violated four separate county policies which would have resulted in the termination of his employment with the county had he not been an elected official. While the contents of that report were not made public, and we recognize the right of Mr. Halcovage to defend himself, Mr. Halcovage admitted certain of the allegations contained in the lengthy federal district court complaint relating to this matter, which are inappropriate for any elected official.

Mr. Halcovage’s conduct is not indicative of the high moral standards espoused by the citizens of Schuylkill County, yet the county finds itself in the untenable position of reluctantly having to tolerate Mr. Halcovage’s continued service as an elected county commissioner notwithstanding conduct that would have otherwise resulted in his termination.

County commissioners should be held to the highest of standards. The pendency of the litigation has served as the basis for numerous abstentions from voting by Mr. Halcovage, which undermines and impedes the ability of county leadership and administration to conduct the peoples’ business, and adversely affects and damages the reputation of Schuylkill County.

We respectfully encourage the subcommittee to recommend articles of impeachment against Mr. Halcovage as the only recourse available to county government and the people of Schuylkill County to remove Mr. Halcovage from office.”